The paperwork would be enough to kill most....
Fans of the TV Series “Justified” (I am) will recognize all of the plots in this set of short stories tied together only by Raylan’s presence: the nurse selling kidneys, the coal mining VP trying to get contracts signed, etc. (He barely figures in the story about the poker-playing girl.) I regret Leonard won’t be able to write any more, but regretfully this is not one of his better works.
Ironically, the TV series holds together better as a novel, especially in its portrayal of the coal-mining areas of Kentucky. This book might have been marketed as a series of short stories.
I don’t know, but have a suspicion that this book was written after, or perhaps simultaneously, with the scripts for the TV series 2nd season as a way to capitalize on the fame of the TV series. No matter, it’s a wonderful modern-day western replete with bad guys and quick-draws. In real life, Raylan would have drowned in paperwork writing up his extravagant use of bullets.
